A skilled novelist has returned with another story of a conflicted woman, wrestling with internal struggles and environmental dilemmas. I’m referring to McConaghy’s previous novel, reviewed here (Migrations, by Charlotte McConaghy — Marguerite Reads). While that novel dealt with the demise of bird species, this novel turns its attention to wolves.

Set in the remote Scottish highlands, biologist Inti Flynn leads a group of scientists attempting to reintroduce wolves, a method shown to create a balance in the environment, helping predator, prey, and the plant species to live in a more natural, sustainable way. The humans in the landscape are the difficulty, or at least Inty perceives this to be the case. Inty brings twin sister Aggie, after having been part of an effort to introduce wolves in Denali National Park, Alaska. The work project was successful. Their private lives were filled with trauma, leading to this escape. Told in a series of flashbacks, we learn of the twins’ difficult upbringing, divorced parents, their mother absorbed by her work as a murder detective, their father living off the land, a peaceful man who slowly loses his cognitive abilities. The girls learn all manner of survival skills, and a deep love for the land, nature, and respect for the delicate balance, but are left to fend for themselves.

As Inty tries to work with local sheep farmers, she brings her baggage into the effort. Rather than working with the locals, she instantly thinks the worst of everyone and creates enemies. This leads to a murder, which she will not believe was committed by her wolves. She works to naturalize three packs of wolves with intelligence and passion, at the same time trying to solve the murder, so she can protect the wolves, and trust people again. McConaghy writes with great sensitivity and poetry about all aspects of nature. She also balances the forward action with flashbacks, revealing information slowly, helping to inform the reader why Inty and her sister Aggie respond in inexplicable ways, until we understand the nature of their trauma. Balancing each of these elements— the murder, the past trauma, the wild setting, and finally, the characters’ growth and resolution— McConaghy does a superb job. This is a wonderful novel. Recommended.